Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet attempted Tuesday to speed up discussions on whether Japan should join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, hoping to have a decision by early next month at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Hawaii.
But there remains strong opposition from within the Democratic Party of Japan as well as by Cabinet members who fear joining the free-trade framework could devastate domestic agriculture.
The discord has left unclear just how fast the government can reach a conclusion.